Norfolk - the jewel in East Anglia's crown
A Norfolk road trip is a fabulously relaxing way to spend a week or two. Norfolk is on the little nook of Great Britain on the east of the country.
There are two big hikes that can be done in Norfolk – Pedders Way – which follows the route of an old Roman road for 49 miles to Holme-next-the-sea, where it joins up with the Norfolk Coast Walk. The Norfolk Coast Walk is 84 miles of salt marsh, sand dunes and pine tree woods – trailing mostly through Norfolk’s AONB (Area of Natural Beauty) to Hopton on Sea.
There are some amazing food options – with 2 Michelin starred restaurants as well as some extremely high quality fine dining options – so a fabulous treat out when you don’t have to do the cooking or washing up in a tiny motorhome kitchen.
Sights to Visit
- Norwich
- Sandringham Estate
- Norfolk Broads
- Thetford Forest
- North Norfolk Coast & Beaches
- Norfolk Coastal Path Hike
- Bird Watching and Nature Trails
- The Brecks
Places to Eat
- Morston Hall (1 *), Holt
- Roger Hickmans, Norwich
- The Wilderbeest, Stoke Holy Cross
- The Neptune (1*), Hunstanton
- Benedicts, Norwich
- Cookies Crab Hut, Salthouse
- The Pigs, Edgefield
- The Victoria, Holkham
Cultural Visits
- Norwich Castle
- Castle Acre
- Blickling Estate
- Oxburgh Hall
- Felbrigg Hall
- Sainsburys Centre for Visual Arts
- The Gallery, Holt
- Walsingham Abbey & Museum
Activity Visits
- Norwich Dry Ski Slopes
- Bewilderwood
- Wroxham Barns
- Thetford Forest Go Ape
- Anglian Kart Centre
- Combat Paint Ball
- Pub & Paddle, Norwich
- Norfolk Broads Boat Hire
Norfolk Road Trip Itineraries
I have given two routes around Norfolk, my home county. The ‘Key Highlights in 7 days’ and a ‘Leisurely 14 days’ Norfolk road trip.
Do remember to take things at your own pace! You could spend a whole 2 days covering Castle Acre and Sandringham. Or you could whistle stop through and stop off for an hour or so at various places and go from Castle Acre , all the way around to Blakeney. It is only 2 hours.
Some of the places – such as Day 10 on the Leisurely Norfolk – are beach days and hiking across the dunes. In the winter time both get partitioned off so the beach is just for the colony of seals that are breeding with their pups. Expect parking to be problematic.
Wells, Blakeney, Stiffkey and Cley – all within a few miles of each other have beautiful walks through AONB areas.
The medieval city of Norwich is included in both of these Norfolk trips. Norwich has a mix of historical old places to see sitting happily alongside the modern constructions.
If you want to explore the more rugged side of Norfolk, your road trip could take you straight from Blickling Hall to Norwich and extend your time around the North Norfolk Coast and even reduce your time in the city if nature and walks are more your thing.
You can join this trip up with our Secrets of Suffolk in a Road Trip which explores sleepy Suffolk in the same timescales.
Norfolk Highlights Road Trip in 1 Week Trip
Day 1
Start your Norfolk road trip by visiting the largest and best preserved monastic sites in the UK dating back to 1060. Enjoy a picnic lunch before driving up towards the Sandringham Estate. Take some time to wander around the estate, enjoy the gardens and buy some goodies from the shop there.
- Castle Acre
- Sandringham
Day 2
Enjoy the wilder sides of Norfolk by moving between beautiful flint stone villages. Gorgeous beaches that are known for their big skies. You can seal watching at Blakeney Point – or crab fish at the quay. Maybe walk part of the Coastal Path from Burnham Deepdale to Holkham, finishing with a nice bite to eat in The Victoria.
- Burnham Market
- Wells-Next-The Sea
- Blakeney
In the morning go into Holt, a lovely North Norfolk village with some great little boutique shops. Stop for a lovely tea and cake at Byfords, quite a Norfolk legend – you may need to book. After exploring Holt, make your way to Blickling Hall. They hold many concerts here in the summer months, ranging from classical (take a picnic, blanket and some fizz) to pop. You can walk, bike, fish, wander the gardens or explore the house. Its a great place for children too.
- Holt
- Blickling Hall
Day 4
What Norfolk Road Trip would be complete without spending some time on the Norfolk Broads? Hire a boat for a half day self drive from Wroxham. Get tickets to join a river boat, or enjoy the wilder side of Hoveton, home to many different wildlife species. If you have kids – Wroxham Barns or Bewilderwood are great nearby options.
- Hoveton
- Wroxham
The jewel in the crown for East Anglia. Norwich is a medieval city, with castle, cathedral and cobbled streets and alleyways, full of boutique and independent shopping. Combine this with riverside walks, a pub and paddle trip and the Norwich Lanes. Benedicts restaurant is a great eatery – of Great British Menu fame. (You might find one day enough, in which case I would spend more time around days 1 & 2.)
- Norwich
Day 7
The final day of your Norfolk Road trip takes in the market town of Wymondham. It is on the way to Thetford from Norwich (A11) and has a beautiful Abbey which I would recommend seeing. Some cute little tea shops in town can fuel you until your next stop of Thetford Forest. Thetford Forest has some gorgeous places to walk – or you could go karting, paint balling or swing through the trees at Go Ape. As peaceful or energetic as you want it to be.
- Wymondham
- Thetford
























Leisurely Norfolk Road Trip in 2 Weeks
Day 1
Start your Norfolk road trip by visiting the largest and best preserved monastic sites in the UK dating back to 1060. Enjoy a picnic lunch before moving to Sandringham Estate, to wander around the estate and buy some goodies from the shop there. Drive on to ‘Sunny Hunny’ which is the start of the Norfolk Coast Road and also for bird watching at the RSPB’s Titchwell Marshes . Eat at the 1 Michelin starred The Neptune for a treat to start your road Trip.
- Castle Acre
- Sandringham
- Hunstanton
Day 2
A lovely 2 hour circular coastal walk from Brancaster Staithe harbour. Have lunch at the wonderful White Horse pub. In July they have an oyster and champagne festival which I love, but not everyone likes oysters! Burnham Market is only 6 miles away – so a comfortable bike ride away. If you don’t like ‘bucket and spade’ seaside beaches, I would leave out day 11 and spend more time between days 2 & 5. Same goes if you drop a Norwich City day. Holkham Beach is where the Household Cavalry mounted regiment spend a summer camp. Seeing between 100 -200 horses galloping down the beach is spectacular.
- Brancaster Staithe/Burnham Deepdale
- Burnham Market
- Holkham Hall
The pretty harbour town which has just about managed to miss the ‘bucket and spade’ brigade. Seafood huts on the front selling locally caught fish, delicious ice-creams and fish and chips to eat. A good walk out to the spit. A very tidal beach – it is easy to get caught out – the sea comes in around you. It is designated an AONB – so make the most of the stunning walks again. You can catch a light steam railway ride to Walsingham, which is a tranquil 30 minutes of fun.
- Wells-next-the-Sea
Day 4
A stop at the religious pilgrimage village of Little Walsingham, which is said to be Englands Nazareth. There is also great farm shop to refresh the fridge with delicious goodies. Head down to Blakeney, where you can crab fish off the quay, go on a boat ride to see the seals, walk out to the point and kayak in the outlets to the sea.
- Little Walsingham
- Blakeney
Day 5
Be sure to try Cookies Crab shack for lunch here. The food is super fresh, amazing value and they will even plate a gorgeous seafood meal up for you if you take a plate! It is bring your own drink – and it is in a conservatory. This whole area is about walking, salt marshes, cley marshes and wild life. Huge stoney beaches. To walk from Blakeney to Salthouse is only 4 miles, so you can see lots of these North Norfolk stops are close together. You could stay in one place for 3 or 4 nights with the use of bikes/legs!
- Stiffkey (Stoo-key)
- Cley (Cli)
- Salthouse
Day 6
I love Holt. A great little shopping place, full of delightful shops and places to eat. Stop for a bite to eat at Byfords. Holt Country Park is great for a nice long walk. From Holt, you can catch an old steam train to Sheringham, a ride of about 25 minutes. If you get a roving ticket, you can hop on and off all day! It stops at Weybourne on the coast, where you could get off, have a picnic and walk part of the costal route to Sheringham in 1 hr and another 30 minutes to West Runton for a lovely lobster and chips at Rocky Bottoms (summer only).
- Holt
- Sheringham
- West Runton
Day 7
You will come to Felbrigg first, which is a national trust house, over 500 acres of grounds with a beautiful house to visit and plenty of walks which are child friendly. Then on to Blickling Hall, another beautiful hall to visit with plenty of grounds. If you are lucky, you may time it with one of the many events that are held in the grounds.
- Felbrigg
- Blickling Hall
Day 8 & 9
The nex couple of days are messing about on the waters. Hire a boat for a half day self drive from Wroxham. Get tickets to join a river boat, or enjoy the wilder side of Hoveton, home to many different wildlife species. If you have kids – Wroxham Barns or Bewilderwood are great nearby options. You can easily base yourself here, as there is a train station in Wroxham, which will take you to Norwich in 30 minutes – right near the river to walk to the cathedral. The campsites are nicer!
- Hoveton
- Wroxham (Boat Hire)
Day 10
Lovely sandy beaches, a lighthouse that is still standing, seals on Horsey Gap in the months of Nov – Jan and much quieter than the more easterly resorts. Great cliffside walks, sand dunes and sandy beaches.
- Happisburgh
- Horsey Gap
- Winterton
Day 11
These coastal towns are the real ‘kiss me quick’ old fashioned beach resorts. Yarmouth has a fun fair, a sea life centre and vast sandy beaches, Lowestoft beaches are the most easterly in the country and you get to see some fabulous sunrises. Gorleston is less ‘in your face’ with big beaches and sand dunes. All 3 are ‘bucket and spade’ resorts.
- Great Yarmouth
- Lowestoft
- Gorleston-on-Sea
Day 12 & 13
The jewel in the crown for East Anglia. Norwich is a medieval city, with castle, cathedral and cobbled streets and alleyways, full of boutique and independent shopping. Combine this with riverside walks, a pub and paddle trip and the Norwich Lanes. Benedicts restaurant is a great eatery – of Great British Menu fame. (You might find one day enough, in which case I would spend more time around days 1 & 2.)
- Norwich
Day 14
Wymondham is on the way to Thetford from Norwich and has a beautiful Abbey which I would recommend seeing along with a nice tea and cake before heading off to Thetford Forest. Thetford Forest has some gorgeous places to walk – or you could go karting, paint balling or swing through the trees at Go Ape. As peaceful or energetic as you want it to be.
- Thetford Forest (for biking and walking)
Motorhome Highlights 1 Week Trip
Day 1
Visit the largest and best preserved monastic sites in the UK dating back to 1060. Enjoy a picnic lunch before moving to Sandringham Estate, to wander around the estate and buy some goodies from the shop there.
- Castle Acre
- Sandringham
Day 2
Spend the day moving between beautiful flint stone villages. Gorgeous beaches, big skies, seal watching at Blakeney Point – or crab fishing at the quay. Maybe walk part of the Coastal Path from Burnham Deepdale to Holkham, finishing with a nice bite to eat in The Victoria.
- Burnham Market
- Wells-Next-The Sea
- Blakeney
Day 3
In the morning go into Holt, a lovely North Norfolk village with some great little boutique shops. Stop for a lovely tea and cake at Byfords, quite a Norfolk legend – you may need to book. After exploring Holt, make your way to Blickling Hall. They hold many concerts here in the summer months, ranging from classical (take a picnic, blanket and some fizz) to pop. You can walk, bike, fish, wander the gardens or explore the house.
- Holt
- Blickling Hall
Day 4
Today is all about the rivers. Hire a boat for a half day self drive from Wroxham. Get tickets to join a river boat, or enjoy the wilder side of Hoveton, home to many different wildlife species. If you have kids – Wroxham Barns or Bewilderwood are great nearby options.
- Hoveton
- Wroxham
Day 5 & 6
The jewel in the crown for East Anglia. Norwich is a medieval city, with castle, cathedral and cobbled streets and alleyways, full of boutique and independent shopping. Combine this with riverside walks, a pub and paddle trip and the Norwich Lanes. Benedicts restaurant is a great eatery – of Great British Menu fame. (You might find one day enough, in which case I would spend more time around days 1 & 2.)
- Norwich
Day 7
Wymondham is on the way to Thetford from Norwich and has a beautiful Abbey which I would recommend seeing along with a nice tea and cake before heading off to Thetford Forest. Thetford Forest has some gorgeous places to walk – or you could go karting, paint balling or swing through the trees at Go Ape. As peaceful or energetic as you want it to be.
- Wymondham
- Thetford
























Motorhome Leisurely 2 Week Trip
Day 1
Visit the largest and best preserved monastic sites in the UK dating back to 1060. Enjoy a picnic lunch before moving to Sandringham Estate, to wander around the estate and buy some goodies from the shop there. Drive on to ‘Sunny Hunny’ which is the start of the Norfolk Coast Road and also for bird watching at the RSPB’s Titchwell Marshes . Eat at the 1 Michelin starred The Neptune for a treat to start your road Trip.
- Castle Acre
- Sandringham
- Hunstanton
Day 2
A lovely 2 hour circular coastal walk from Brancaster Staithe harbour. Have lunch at the wonderful White Horse pub. In July they have an oyster and champagne festival which I love, but not everyone likes oysters! Burnham Market is only 6 miles away – so a comfortable bike ride away. If you don’t like ‘bucket and spade’ seaside beaches, I would leave out day 11 and spend more time between days 2 & 5. Same goes if you drop a Norwich City day. Holkham Beach is where the Household Cavalry mounted regiment spend a summer camp. Seeing between 100 -200 horses galloping down the beach is spectacular.
- Brancaster Staithe/Burnham Deepdale
- Burnham Market
- Holkham Hall
Day 3
The pretty harbour town which has just about managed to miss the ‘bucket and spade’ brigade. Seafood huts on the front selling locally caught fish, delicious ice-creams and fish and chips to eat. A good walk out to the spit. A very tidal beach – it is easy to get caught out – the sea comes in around you. It is designated an AONB – so make the most of the stunning walks again. You can catch a light steam railway ride to Walsingham, which is a tranquil 30 minutes of fun.
- Wells-next-the-Sea
Day 4
A stop at the religious pilgrimage village of Little Walsingham, which is said to be Englands Nazareth. There is also great farm shop to refresh the fridge with delicious goodies. Head down to Blakeney, where you can crab fish off the quay, go on a boat ride to see the seals, walk out to the point and kayak in the outlets to the sea.
- Little Walsingham
- Blakeney
Day 5
Be sure to try Cookies Crab shack for lunch here. The food is super fresh, amazing value and they will even plate a gorgeous seafood meal up for you if you take a plate! It is bring your own drink – and it is in a conservatory. This whole area is about walking, salt marshes, cley marshes and wild life. Huge stoney beaches. To walk from Blakeney to Salthouse is only 4 miles, so you can see lots of these North Norfolk stops are close together. You could stay in one place for 3 or 4 nights with the use of bikes/legs!
- Stiffkey (Stoo-key)
- Cley (Cli)
- Salthouse
Day 6
I love Holt. A great little shopping place, full of delightful shops and places to eat. Stop for a bite to eat at Byfords. Holt Country Park is great for a nice long walk. From Holt, you can catch an old steam train to Sheringham, a ride of about 25 minutes. If you get a roving ticket, you can hop on and off all day! It stops at Weybourne on the coast, where you could get off, have a picnic and walk part of the costal route to Sheringham in 1 hr and another 30 minutes to West Runton for a lovely lobster and chips at Rocky Bottoms (summer only).
Day 7
You will come to Felbrigg first, which is a national trust house, over 500 acres of grounds with a beautiful house to visit and plenty of walks which are child friendly. Then on to Blickling Hall, another beautiful hall to visit with plenty of grounds. If you are lucky, you may time it with one of the many events that are held in the grounds.
- Felbrigg
- Blickling Hall
Day 8 & 9
The nex couple of days are messing about on the waters. Hire a boat for a half day self drive from Wroxham. Get tickets to join a river boat, or enjoy the wilder side of Hoveton, home to many different wildlife species. If you have kids – Wroxham Barns or Bewilderwood are great nearby options. You can easily base yourself here, as there is a train station in Wroxham, which will take you to Norwich in 30 minutes – right near the river to walk to the cathedral. The campsites are nicer!
- Hoveton
- Wroxham (Boat Hire)
Day 10
Lovely sandy beaches, a lighthouse that is still standing, seals on Horsey Gap in the months of Nov – Jan and much quieter than the more easterly resorts. Great cliffside walks, sand dunes and sandy beaches.
- Happisburgh
- Horsey Gap
- Winterton
Day 11
These coastal towns are the real ‘kiss me quick’ old fashioned beach resorts. Yarmouth has a fun fair, a sea life centre and vast sandy beaches, Lowestoft beaches are the most easterly in the country and you get to see some fabulous sunrises. Gorleston is less ‘in your face’ with big beaches and sand dunes. All 3 are ‘bucket and spade’ resorts.
- Great Yarmouth
- Lowestoft
- Gorleston-on-Sea
Day 12 & 13
The jewel in the crown for East Anglia. Norwich is a medieval city, with castle, cathedral and cobbled streets and alleyways, full of boutique and independent shopping. Combine this with riverside walks, a pub and paddle trip and the Norwich Lanes. Benedicts restaurant is a great eatery – of Great British Menu fame. (You might find one day enough, in which case I would spend more time around days 1 & 2.)
- Norwich
Day 14
Wymondham is on the way to Thetford from Norwich and has a beautiful Abbey which I would recommend seeing along with a nice tea and cake before heading off to Thetford Forest. Thetford Forest has some gorgeous places to walk – or you could go karting, paint balling or swing through the trees at Go Ape. As peaceful or energetic as you want it to be.
- Thetford Forest (if you like biking or hiking)
Where to Stay
Places to park up at night are very much a personal things.
You may enjoy staying at large ‘Club’ sites where they have all the facilities and even onsite entertainment for you to enjoy. You use this as your base and drive, cycle or walk to the places that you want to visit in the surrounding areas.
You may prefer to stay on the smaller sites, where places are limited to 5 or 10 motorhomes/vans or caravans. Facilities tend to be less, but you can hook up or just park up – but know you can get water or empty black/grey waste.
Or you may wish to ‘wild camp’ and be off grid for everything as you go round, just stopping for the odd night to empty and fill up various essential elements of your motorhome.
I have split this into smaller and large sites which would suit the Norfolk Itineraries that are detailed.
Larger Locations
- Sandringham *C&C Site
- Burham Deepdale Backpackers Camping, Burnham Deepdale
- Kelling Heath Holiday Park,
- West Runton *C&C Site
- Whittlingham Norwich *C&C Club Site (a little tatty in the shower block but convenient)
- The Dower House Touring Park, Thetford
Smaller Locations
- Short Lane Farm, Wells-next-the-sea
- Martinole Farm, Norwich
- Wroxham EC Landamores (fishing available)
- Pine Grove, Hickling
*Camping and Caravan Club Sites (require membership)
As you can see, there is so much to see and do in Norfolk, with some absolutely stunning places visit.
A range of activities for all ages – so whether you are motorhoming as adults or taking the children or grandchildren with you – there is so much to keep everyone occupied.
I really hope that you have found this road trip itinerary useful. It will stand alone as a road trip to enjoy Norfolk’s beauty, or you can combine it with our Suffolk Road Trip itinerary or our Cambrigeshire Itinerary.
Happy motorhoming!
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